It is a question that is asked of Web Designers perhaps more than any other.  What aspects of a website make for great design?  Well, here’s a few top tips using a site we’ve recently designed for a Melbourne based client as an example.

1.  Clear navigation structure
Do visitors know where to go to get the information they need and can they get there easily?  Ensure your navigation uses language that is easy to understand and is hierarchically organised according to the type and importance of content.

2.  Engaging and relevant imagery
A website without imagery is almost like a pub without beer – bland and unmemorable.  That said, getting the imagery right is also crucial.  Select imagery that is directly relevant to both your brand and target audience (if you can afford a few extra dollars custom imagery is best).

3.  Text – dynamic, legible, accurate, brief
The heading says it all.  Ensure that text on your site is spelled and punctuated correctly, updated often, is of a size large enough to be read by the average person with average eyes and is written with brevity in mind.

4.  Simplicity
There is nothing worse than a site that has been over-designed and is cluttered/crammed with information.  Keeping your site clean and simple yet engaging will ensure that visitors have as positive an experience possible and aren’t scared to return.

5.  Embrace the space!
As per the above point, there is nothing wrong with the strategic use of white space, particularly if there is a product or service you want to place more emphasis on.

6.  Web-optimal typography
Web browsers generally favour the use of a standard set of fonts/typefaces so if these are used consistently throughout the site, you are more likely to ensure your visitors see what you see!  Google actually publish a list of open source fonts you can use in your website that they support.

7.  Use colour wisely and appropriately
Colour is best used strategically and in close alignment with the brand of your business.  If the nature of the business necessitates colour (think kids websites etc) then you can afford to be a little more liberal, otherwise it’s best to keep it nice!

8. Call to action
It is always ideal to have some aspect of your website design function as a call to action – be it to find out more about a specific product or service or send an email enquiry.  Getting visitors to interact with your site in some way is crucial.

9.  Searchability
Can users search for something on the site if they choose to and will they get accurate and useful results?  If the answer is yes, you’re on the right track.  If no, time to get cracking with implementing a search function.

10. Testing 123
This is where so many websites that have been designed with the absolute best of intentions can go horribly wrong.  Testing.  It is absolutely vital to try and break the site on every browser and platform before it goes live.  It’s a bit like a restaurant with a dirty bathroom – despite the food being okay it has the potential to completely ruin your experience.

-  No image for this as all our sites work perfectly, of course! –

In the course of designing websites for a living, it is truly frightening how often I come across spelling errors in all manner of contexts.  Email is a particular bug-bear of mine, however it is, on occasion, equally disheartening to see the content within so many existing websites (and the planned content for new ones) lose its credibility because the Author who penned it had a limited propensity for, or interest in, linguistics.

These range from very simple, presumably unintended errors (typo’s) to ridiculously obvious ones (I came across a recent example that included the words ‘calender’ and ‘festivel’ repeatedly on different pages throughout a clients existing site).

Journalist for Melbourne newspaper The Age, Christopher Bantick, said in a 2003 article he wrote on the subject of poor spelling that “the importance of correct spelling as an indicator of clear communication has been reduced through our increasing dependence on technology.”  Seven years later, in 2010, this couldn’t be more true.

Along with the core forms of media and communication we have come to know, love and develop an almost unprecedented reliance on, such as television and the internet, the enormous growth in the peripheral digital landscape, incorporating social media, blogging, online communication tools (MSN, Skype, Yammer…the list goes on) and mobile content / application development, to name a few, demands we pay even more attention to the way we assemble and articulate words and sentences.

To further encourage our apathy on the subject, we also have to cope with a world which is being increasingly flooded with an elaborate and seductive spectrum of visual data – one in which images, rather than words, are rapidly gaining supremacy.

It is therefore those individuals, businesses, enterprises and organisations that make the paying of attention to these semantic details a critical component of the success of their daily operations, a big step ahead of those that don’t.

Looking at the web in isolation, correct spelling is also imperative for SEO-motivated reasons, if none other.  You want users to find you.  And you want them to find you using the correct terminology.  If you do drawings for a living then you may need to expand on, and further clarify that when it comes to defining search terms.  A quick search on dictionary.com should explain why (as of September, 2010 there are approximately 60 definitions of the term ‘draw’).

In summing up, there are some basic steps you can take to ensure you minimise your chances of eternal intellectual humiliation by spelling mistake.  These include:

1.  If a word doesn’t look right, chances are it probably isn’t.  Use the spell checker (and even dare to click the ‘change or ‘change-all’ button) in whatever application you are using to create content.

2.  If unsure, or for particularly tricky words and concepts, invest in a good dictionary.  These are worth their weight in gold and make an attractive addition to any desk.

3.  If you suffer from extremely low spell-esteem, hire a proof-reader / copywriter / copyeditor.  Make sure they are, however, appropriately qualified, professional and experienced.  Ask to see samples of their work.  Your mate Jim from school who was good at English may not be the most suitable person to write your website content.

I don’t profess to be an expert on the subject but I have found the above tips to come in handy on numerous occasions.  I hope you will too. As Descartes was overheard saying at drinks with friends one night, ‘I think, therefore, I spell correctly.’

First thing to mention, is that it’s not often I see a business succeed with little or no money invested to get things started.  However it usually takes someone at least one try to learn this truth – and hopefully this Blog post will help save some time and pain in that learning process.

I always recommend engaging a professional agency (like us) to help execute a web project, as it’s often an important part of getting a new business up and running successfully.  This article is aimed at those that don’t want to spend that sort of money, and instead are looking for a cheap & nasty solution to help get them started.  Salsa doesn’t provide these services, but here is what we’ve learnt over the years.

Sorry I know it sounds cynical.

Once you’ve taken care of the paperwork (register a business name – https://online.justice.vic.gov.au/cav/br-home, and register your domain name – Google “cheap domain names”), you need to get a website built.

If you have $1,000 – $2,000 to spend on a website.

The cheapest way to get this done is to use a pre-existing Content Management System (CMS) such as WordPress, or Joomla, or Magento or OSCommerce for an eCommerce website.  You should then look to download free, or buy a template for the site, instead of paying for a custom design.

Some places to get templates from:

WordPress – http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/

Joomla – http://www.joomlashack.com/

Magento – http://www.silverthemes.com/

www.templatemonster.com is also a source of hundreds of themes, but the quality is inconsistent.

Once this is done, you need to then get someone to build it for you.  www.nachomedia.com.au can help put together a template website at low cost.  Or if you know a freelance developer, have them do it for you – should be around $1,000 for a WordPress/Joomla site, and $2,000 for an Magento/OSCommerce site.

They can probably help you with hosting also.

Credibility is important – so perhaps set up a 1300 number if you can – and have it direct to your mobile phone or land line – makes you look more professional, and doesn’t cost much.

If you have nothing to spend on a website!

Try setting up a Facebook page.  It costs nothing. See this post on how to do that: http://lazarus.salsainternet.com.au/2010/06/howwhy-to-create-a-facebook-page/

Take a look at Twitter also, if you have the time.

You can also redirect your domain name to your facebook page if you want to advertise the domain name, instead of the facebook page in your marketing collateral.

Get people to find you.

Once you’ve setup some sort of online presence as above, people need to find it.  To be honest, this is often the hardest part.

First, you should run a Google Adwords campaign (ads on the right side of a Google search results screen), as this is relatively low cost, and works instantly – you can setup a campaign, and get it running in a couple of hours – gets traffic to your site immediately.  You can check keywords, etc  at https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

You can also read about how to setup a campaign here: http://www.salsainternet.com.au/adwords-explained.html

Once you’ve proven the model works online, you can start to work on getting the site to rank well in the free/organic listings in Google (left side of Google search results screen).  There are 3 things that make this work – Structure, Content & Links. More info on how this works here: http://www.salsainternet.com.au/search-engine-optimisation.html

You also want to put your web address on your business card, flyers, email signature, etc to help get the word out.

As mentioned, this approach in my opinion is speculative at best, but costs very little, so maybe it’s worth a shot for those that haven’t tried before.

Good luck!

Use our experience and knowledge to your advantage! (Image: Miika Kumpulainen)

In my 12 or so years in the exciting, yet often wild and rugged terrain of the Creative Management landscape, I have become all too accustomed to the regularity and reality of working with clients who have very specific, highly subjective ideas about how they want their website to look.

Being a former business owner myself, I completely understand the intense relationship one can have with one’s business.  There are undoubtedly certain parallels that can be drawn between owning a business and having a baby – particularly if it is your ‘brain-child’ and the recipient of a large proportion of your life savings, the new and likely unwieldy tenant in your house or the relentless force responsible for keeping your brain ticking away throughout the night.

That said, as a Designer, I do feel an obligation to stand up for and vocalise the virtues of my vocation, just as any other trained, experienced and knowledgeable professional would and should.

Whilst it can be argued that ‘design’ is in itself not a skill that can be officially labelled or accredited (although I personally believe the introduction of an official, widely recognised accreditation program for Designers would be worthwhile) in such a publicly resonant way as say that of a Doctor, Accountant, Solicitor, Chef or even Hairdresser, being a good Designer involves amassing an awareness of, and an ability to do a multitude of things.

We are so much more than technically-apt personnel through which creative solutions are realised, and can and do often wear multiple hats including those of psychologist, philosopher, business advisor, anthropologist, mathematician, problem solver and project manager, amongst many others.

Design is all about finding the right solution that will help an individual or business exceed their clients expectations.  And in doing so, it is fundamentally important that the solution is not just highly functional, but that it delights in delivering to the client or user an innovative experience, or a means of communication, that not only takes them where they want to go but inspires them to want more.

It is this amassing of experience – of searching for, experimenting with and exploring new ways of resolving communication problems, that provides us with the expertise that you – the client – come to us seeking.   It is also what we pride ourselves on offering you.

Next time you come in to Salsa, I’d recommend coming equipped with three things to ensure you get the most value out of our expertise.  Firstly, do develop your own ideas about what sort of interactive design solution you’re looking for.  In doing so though I suggest you ask yourself the following questions:

1.  Does this tie in with my branding?
2.  Will it resonate with my target audience(s) and make clear the objectives of my business?
3.  Will it differentiate me from my competitors? If so, how?
4.  What is the functional basis for my aesthetic decisions? (Ie:  If you think pink should the predominant colour used throughout the site, why?)

The second thing would be to adopt a willingness to be challenged. After all, you are paying us for our expertise, so get the most out of us.  We have worked with clients with requirements and demands similar to yours time and time again, so keep this in the back of your mind.  We also have a thorough understanding of the bigger picture – what design trends might be better to steer clear of and what other creative approaches might be worthwhile investigating.

Thirdly, have fun and remember good design has been proven to place you in a position of significant competitive advantage!  I highly recommend checking out the Design Victoria website for a great (and practical) read on how this does so.  Amongst many other resources and tools, you can also assess how well your business is embracing innovation.